1 gen 1968 anni - Tet Offensive (Vietnam War)

Descrizione:

Despite the US having problems with the inexperienced soldiers, the US seemed to believe the war was going well. They had killed large numbers of the Viet Cong soldiers, and although they were struggling with traps, they believed the enemy was being worn down. This confidence was shattered in early 1968 when Viet Cong fighters attacked over 100 cities and other military targets. This was called the Tet Offensive and was the act of Viet Cong soldiers attacking a large number of US and Southern Vietnamese troops. 4500 Viet Cong soldiers fought with a much larger group of US and southern Vietnamese troops for 2 days. The US had to fight to regain control.

The Tet Offensive was a disaster for the communists, as they had assumed the south Vietnam troops would rise up and join them. The Viet Cong lost 100,000 experienced soldiers and was badly weakened by it. The Tet Offensive was a huge turning point in the war, there were up to 500,000 troops in Vietnam and the US was spending 20 billion USD per year, how did the communists manage to take the US soldiers by surprise? Along with that, the South Vietnamese forces quickly regained the towns that were previously captured by the offensive side but had to use a lot of airforce and many civilians were killed, was this right?

The Tet Offensive caused a lot of media issues in the US, many people were distraught with the horrors of the war and there were also racial issues with the soldiers being drafted by the US (many more black soldiers were being drafted compared to white soldiers). People in the US were also unhappy with the amount of spending the country was making, over a war that was still so difficult to win.

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